


Too Close

by Sherllamalock



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Companions Questline, F/M, Falling In Love, Inspired by Skyrim, My First Work in This Fandom, Skyrim Main Quest, Skyrim References, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 15:30:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15416010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherllamalock/pseuds/Sherllamalock
Summary: The Dragonborn has arrived in the great hold of Whiterun to deliver the news of the return of dragons and the attack on Helgen, but a mysterious stranger suggests she join the Companions instead of fight dragons. However, she gets more than she bargained for upon meeting the more-brain-than-brawn Vilkas.





	Too Close

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work in the Elder Scrolls/Skyrim fandom and this is a test run of it basically. It may or may not be continued, so please leave feedback! Enjoy! :)

Prologue

        The fourth era and two hundred years began with an incredible roar from the skies, winds like a hurricane, and a blaze hotter than the flames of Oblivion. A young wood elf looked up from the chopper’s block to see a winged beast fly over their heads and her heart seemed to ring with familiarity: a dragon. The accused and Imperials alike ran for their lives, those armed with bows fighting the dragon, and the young wood elf escaped with a noble Nord by the name of Ralof. To this day, she is in his debt.

          On from his home in Riverwood the elf traveled across the mighty and noble land of Skyrim until a man suggested she join a noble faction (or rather a family) called the Companions. The Companions, he explained, were some of the greatest and oldest mercenaries in all of Tamriel and she would have to prove her worth if she wished to join their ranks.

          “But be warned, lass,” said the man before he continued up the road, “the Companions…they change when the full moon rises.”

          Confused but determined, the elf headed on her path to the strong hold of Whiterun where she would find these “Companions”, but once inside Jorrvaskr, she would find more than the famed men and woman of Skyrim.

 

 

~~~~~~Chapter One~~~~~~

 

          If it wouldn’t have been for the twins of the Companions, Vilkas and Farkas, (and the damned dragon in Helgen) I might not be alive to tell this story.

          A few weeks ago I joined the Companions. Everything went well until I was sent on a suicide mission to wipe out some of the Silver Hand hiding out in Treva’s Watch. I went by myself because they said there were only a few in there and I honestly thought I could handle myself…until their chief came out.

          Vilkas and Farkas must’ve known something was wrong since I was gone longer than the anticipated four days. I could see seven bandits in their mess hall and had my bow ready to kill. Three down in silence, perfect for me since I was somewhat out of practice, and the fourth…she turned and alerted them all (honestly how could you miss three of your watchmen dropping dead? Bandits are dumber than trolls if you ask me). I was surrounded by several more bandits before I could do anything to stop anyone else. Unfortunately, I had not taken the beast blood, but it was also fortunate since their silver blades could kill me faster than anything else. When they learned who I was and who my friends were, they stripped me off my armor and holed me up with a werewolf who was trapped in his beast form. Either way, he didn’t like me and if it weren’t for the incredibly powerful chain around his next, I would probably be dead.

          A few days passed and they’d only fed me ground wheat and some spoiled milk. The beast got scraps of bread and on one occasion, he had shoved some over in my direction as if he had some humanity left in his head. As the dragonborn I knew I should have been out of here by now, but for all Skyrim thought I was dead and their fabled savior is a waste of space.

          “So, what’s your name?” I asked the beast one day, but he simply looked at me and looked away and laid his head down, “Oh, that’s…that’s a nice name. I’m Casnea, apparently a cursed wood elf according to citizens of Skyrim. The Dragonborn is supposed to be of Nord descent, but they always looked at my face and judged me. I’m more human than they think. My father’s family is Nord and he loved my mother. He met her at a shrine of Talos and they fell in love. I was born three years later.”

          I sighed and looked down at my filthy body.

          “I’m probably boring the piss out of you, but you know, no one will ever listen to me. My mother was murdered when I was seven because she was an elf and the people thought she was an Imperial sympathizer. My father barely escaped with me, otherwise I would have been killed along with her…because to Nords, I am an abomination. Of course now they need me more than ever, but here I am locked up in a cell with a quiet wolf who occasionally wants to kill me. If it makes you feel any better, I lived and worked on a farm until last year when my father died. Then I decided to abandon his farm and save myself since there was no money in it for me anymore. I ran to the border and got caught up in a Stormcloak raid and almost beheaded in Helgen.”

          The werewolf looked up at me, his ears perked, and he started to move towards me cautiously but was stopped by the sound of a creaking door. I listened closely, heard a scuffle, a groan of someone being stabbed in the throat and a head smashed against a wall, and finally, keys jingling.

          “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the mighty Dragonborn.”

          Vilkas and Farkas stood before the cell door and I couldn’t say I had ever been happier to see anyone. Farkas was grinning at me and Vilkas was busy with the lock on the door.

          “Find her armor, brother,” said Vilkas as he opened the door, “She looks too small in these rags. She needs to look herself again.”

          Farkas nodded and began to search the room for my things. I stood up, but stumbled for I was so weak, and Vilkas caught me before I hit the floor. He looked at me worriedly and I quickly scuttled out of his arms as if I didn’t need any help walking (which was false since I could hardly stand).

          “I’m fine,” I insisted and sighed as I walked myself up the wall and took baby steps towards the door, but Vilkas wasn’t patient enough for that. Taking it upon himself to make me move faster, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder just as Farkas returned with my things. He raised his brow, but opted to not ask questions and instead led us out of the prison.

          “What about him?” I asked and pointed to the wolf before we could get too far.

          “He’s too far gone,” said Vilkas, “By the looks of it, they’ve done something to keep him in his wolf form.”

          “So we can’t release him anyway?”

          “Unfortunately, no. The least we could do is kill him and save his life that way.”

          Farkas nodded and retreated back to the wolf, closing the door behind Vilkas and I as he carried me down the stairs and out the front door. The moonlight nearly blinded me and I had never been happier to feel grass beneath my feet, but Vilkas barely let me out of his arms as we stood there waiting for Farkas.

          “Um…thanks for coming to get me…” I mumbled and felt my cheeks flush, “I…I don’t think I’d have gotten out of there without you. They took all my lockpicks, so…yeah…”

          Vilkas chuckled and shook his head.

          “You know, with your aptitude for picking locks, I’m surprised Kodlak even let you in the Companions. He would have probably sent you to the Thieves Guild if he didn’t look past that and see your kind heart and spirit. Still, I don’t think we would have been able to get in if it wasn’t for you.”

          I smiled a little and hid my face a little since I knew I was filthy and probably smelled worse than usual.

          “Thanks. I just wish I hadn’t gotten into trouble here. Aela and I will probably head out to Windhelm tomorrow—”

          “You’re not going anywhere. Even Kodlak wouldn’t let you go out into the field. You need to get your strength back. If it makes you feel any better, Kodlak gave Aela a…well, a ‘stern talking to’ when he found out you two had been going after the Silver Hand for quite some time.”

          I glared at him, but just as I opened my mouth to say anything, the door opened, Farkas stepped out, and I shoved myself out of Vilkas’ arms as fast as I could. Unfortunately I stumbled and fell on my backside in the dirt to which Vilkas stared at me and Farkas laughed.

          “You can’t walk,” Vilkas scolded and reached to pick me up again, but I batted his hands away and moved to try and stand myself up, failing.

          “What if I carry you?” Farkas suggested and handed me my things, “You can get dressed and we’ll ride back together since you seem to be afraid of Vilkas.”

          “I’m not afraid of him,” I snapped and clumsily tried to put my armor back on, but it was proving difficult and I groaned loudly in frustration. The twins came over and helped me put my things on, but instead decided to put some of it in a knapsack to help ease my burden.

          “If this were Companion armor, your bones would snap,” Farkas teased as he hoisted me onto one of the horses. To my dismay, however, I didn’t get my own horse; Vilkas climbed on his horse behind me and held me in place before I could make my escape.

          “Why are you fighting so much?” he asked and nudged the horse to move forward towards home, “It’s not like I’m going to hurt you…or try to be sweet on you.”

          My cheeks turned red and I glanced over at Farkas who decided to linger behind us a little which didn’t help me feel any better. I didn’t say anything to Vilkas. I wasn’t afraid he was going to hurt me or flirt with me and I knew my constant attempts to get away from him were making it seem like I was sweet on _him_. I sighed and held onto the saddle horn as we rode, my face embracing the warm summer wind, and I couldn’t have been more grateful for when they found me.

          “I’m sorry,” I murmured and took a deep breath, wishing I hadn’t been so foolish, “I’m just…nervous, I suppose. I feel as if I disappointed Kodlak, the Companions…and you…”

          Vilkas looked down at me for a long moment.

          “You didn’t disappoint anyone,” he reassured me, “If it makes you feel any better, the others think Farkas and I went on a hunting trip and you decided to visit the Greybeards on your way back. Aela should never have sent you there on your own, it was already too risky since we just lost Skjor…”

          “But it was a trial, I should have done better.”

          “Exactly, it was a trial. We’re not going to kick you out of the Companions because you were captured.”

          “We lost a whelp to the Imperials after one day before,” Farkas mentioned, “He’s got a pretty high bounty on his head.”

          The two of them chuckled, but I could only try and hold myself up on the horse, although Vilkas had a good hold on me and was keeping me from falling off. After awhile, I began to grow exhausted and leaned back against Vilkas for I couldn’t hold myself up any longer.

          “Should we camp?” Farkas asked.

          Vilkas shook his head and answered quietly, “No, just let her sleep here. I’ve got her.”

          I was too tired to object or anything else, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep against Vilkas’ chest, no dreams plaguing me through the night for the first time in weeks.

 

          Next thing I knew, I was in a bed in Jorrvaskr, my belongings set carefully at the foot of the bed on a dresser, and it was then that I realized…this wasn’t my bed. I tried to get up, but I unfortunately was still too weak to do anything about it and, apparently, I’d caught a fever. Wonderful.

          I laid back down and sighed as I closed my eyes, but the voices outside the door had me suddenly on high alert. I ran a hand through my hair and grabbed my sword, but the tip hit the ground with a loud clang and I knew if it were someone trying to kill me, I would be dead by now.

          “I think I heard her,” said someone, it sounded like Farkas.

          “Sister?” said Aela and before I knew it, she, the twins, and Kodlak were in the room tending me with water and soup.

          Aela looked concerned as she sat on the bed beside me and for the first time, she was gentle as she took my hand.

          “Forgive me, shield sister,” she said softly, “I should not have sent you there alone. I should have come to help you, even if it would have made Kodlak suspicious.”

          I shook my head and glanced at the faces around the room before returning my gaze to Aela.

          “It was _my_ trial,” I said firmly and tried to rub the sleep from my face, “I shouldn’t have failed like I did. Honestly, I think I’d be dead if the twins hadn’t come for me.”

          She looked at the others and placed her hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

          “I will not risk your life again,” she vowed and stood up to leave.

          “She has the right idea,” said Kodlak as Aela left the room, “Our new Companion needs rest.”

          Farkas nodded and followed Kodlak and tried to get Vilkas to leave as well, but he held up a finger and the other two left, leaving me alone with him. I sighed and wrapped the blankets a little tighter around myself as a chill washed over me. Damn this fever and damn myself for being captured.

          “I take it you like this room?” said Vilkas, trying to lighten the mood, but it definitely did not work, “This is my room. You didn’t need to be ill around the other whelps and subsequently infect the entirety of Jorrvaskr.”

          He laughed a little again. However, I was still stuck on the fact that I was in Vilkas’ bed. He noticed the discomfort and cleared his throat before daring to sit on the corner of the bed, seeming as though he wanted to watch over me in the moment, probably just to make sure I didn’t go and get myself captured again.

          “Thank you,” I mumbled and scooted further under the covers, “I…er…how long have I been asleep?”

          “Only a day or so. We’ve been checking in on you to make sure your fever was stable and you were alive. Danica came by to pray over you or something since you helped save Gildergreen. It seemed to help a little, but she left a few potions in case things got a little out of hand. A little fever can’t take down the Dragonborn.”

          I managed a smile and let my eyes close as weakness began to overcome me again.

          “Thank you for everything,” I murmured as I felt myself fall asleep.

          “It was nothing,” he said softly and when he thought I was asleep, I felt him give my hand a gentle squeeze and press a soft kiss to my knuckles before he left the room, leaving me to fall into another deep sleep.


End file.
